Pickup trucks are commonly used to transport heavy articles, such as refrigerators and lawn tractors. Where a pickup truck is used to transport an article such as, a refrigerator, the article is typically located at the forward end of the truck bed, against the front wall of the bed. Such placement of the exemplary refrigerator assures that upon braking, the refrigerator will not slide forwardly, undesirably impacting against the pickup truck's cab.
A common pickup truck, upon accelerating, braking, or turning, is capable of imposing up to 0.92 laterally directed “G” forces upon cargo secured in its truck bed. Where a 600 pound refrigerator is well secured against the forward bed wall of a pickup truck, such wall must withstand approximately 552 pounds of pressure exerted by the refrigerator upon maximum forward braking. Upon maximum rearward braking, where such refrigerator is secured by a loading strap, the strap mounts must each resist approximately 225 pounds of pulling force.
Insecure loading resulting from loose or omitted loading straps tends to magnify the forces which are applied to pickup truck bed and front walls. For example, upon maximum forward braking, and upon insecure loading of the exemplary 600 pound refrigerator, such refrigerator may slide forwardly over the truck bed, reaching a speed of at least 1 m.p.h. with respect to the bed. Such moderate sliding motion results in an additional 1.6 “G” forces applied to the bed front wall upon impact. Thus, upon insecure loading of such exemplary refrigerator, the front wall of the pickup truck bed may be required to withstand approximately 1,500 pounds of force.
Common pickup truck bed front walls are composed of sheet steel having a thickness between {fraction (3/32)}″ and ⅛″. The upper edge of such front walls are typically formed into a “J” channel or rolled cornice. Such common pickup truck bed front walls are incapable of withstanding lateral forces such as are described above without undergoing undesirable deformation or bowing. As a result of the inability of such common pickup truck bed front walls to withstand such forces, pickup trucks commonly have an undesirably forwardly bowed front bed walls, and are in need of repair. Also, due to the thinness of the sheet metal utilized in such common pickup truck bed front walls, such walls provide an insecure mounting surface for attachment of mounting cleats or tie down mounting plates.
The instant inventive apparatus solves or ameliorates the above undesirable traits of pickup truck bed front walls by providing a “U” channel beam reinforcing member which is capable as dually serving as a bed wall straightening tool.